I spent a month at Egidio’s place and enjoyed my stay. Here are some of the (hopefully, objective) details:
Hosts: The hosts were very responsive. They allowed me to check in early, and when I expressed my surprise that there was no microwave in the kitchen, they suggested that I could purchase one and be reimbursed (which we did). I was very happy to have a microwave. (Note that the description of the condo didn’t list a microwave--I should have read more closely. Now it does. :) )
Location: The Suan Phlu area is good--it’s got good street food, markets, bars, restaurants, convenience stores. Many of my Bangkok friends had suggestions for places to try. However, it is a 20-minute walk to BTS (Chong Nonsi or Sala Daeng) or MRT (Silom or Lumpini). Similar for supermarkets.
Sound: The place was surprisingly quiet. No sounds from neighboring apartments or traffic. Most of the sound I heard was from animals (birds, cats, lizards). I usually sleep with white noise playing, but I didn’t need it here.
Light: With glass sliding doors to the balconies off the bedroom and living room, the place gets a good amount of natural light. It faces north, so the sunlight is never scorching.
View: Decent view. The buildings just outside the balcony are low, so you can see the surrounding skyscrapers. The Mahanakhon tower is clearly visible from the couch.
Cleanliness: Surfaces, floors, linens were all clean when I moved in. (The bathroom could have used a quick wipe.) Unfortunately, the place does have roaches. When I opened the kitchen cabinets, I saw a lot of little black droppings and a couple of small dead roaches. I scrubbed the cabinets before putting anything inside. I only saw a couple of small live roaches in the kitchen, but quite a few tiny ones in the bathroom. (Covering the drain by the toilet seemed to help a lot.)
Air conditioning: The units in the living room and bedroom both worked fine. There is also a portable fan that I found very useful.
WiFi: Fast and reliable.
Kitchen: Plenty of dishes, utensils, and some small appliances (including a blender, electric kettle, and a small toaster oven). There is enough counter space for cooking. I cooked a lot and it worked fine. As with most Thai homes, there is no oven.
Bathroom: The hot water in the shower was fine. There were plenty of towels.
Bedroom: The bed was comfortable. There was a shelving unit rather than a closet. There were not many clothes drawers, but several shelves, and plenty of space for hanging clothes. There was also a TV, which I never used.
Living room: There is a large couch by the balcony, which is where I spent most of my time. I never used the TV, so I can’t say anything about that.
Maintenance: No major issues, but several minor things--dripping faucet, loose legs on a stool, wobbly shelves in the bedroom (fixable by hand-tightening the screws), missing pieces on the drying rack, missing cabinet handles, burned out light bulb when I moved in, etc.
Clothes washing: The washing machine worked well and washing products were provided (though I already had my own.) There are other paid washers as well as dryers near the lobby.
Gym: It had dumbbells, benches, and a few strength training machines, which was pretty much all I used. Those were all fine. The only cardio I tried was the elliptical, which was not great, but the other cardio equipment looked better.
Pool: Looked nice, but I never used it.
Check-in: The host was not there in person but was on the phone with the non-English-speaking housekeeper who took me through the process, providing translation and assistance. The process involved some paperwork, getting my fingerprint scanned for the door into the building, and getting a parking sticker and gate remote for the car. The whole process took about 50 minutes, but it was good to get officially registered as a resident of the building--at other places, I felt like an intruder. One thing that made me a little uncomfortable was being asked to state on the form that I was going to be there for 10 or 12 months rather than the one month that I was actually staying.